Hesperian student / (Lincoln [Neb.]) 1872-1885, October 01, 1877, Page 189, Image 9

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189
wlml long, but I could have listened to
him for tin hour longer nml llibii not have
been weary of it, ho was .so eloquent, and
hud such grand idoas to advance."
" What was his name?" queried the old
lady.
" McKce," replied Nellie, "Judge Mo
Kce of (J ."
" MoKoe," mused the old lady running
her lingers through her gray locks; "Mo.
Keo, let me see, L wonder where I have
heard that name before. Oh! wasn't that
fellow's name Molvee that got up such a
desperate llirtation with you, some, well
let me see, it must have been some eight
or ten years ago; about the time Susan's
oldest child was born I think, little Jim
my you know, the one that died when lie
was about eight mouths old. Poor child!
1 always thought he favored Susan most,
but Susan would have it anyway that he
lavored his father. ' looks just like him
for all the world' she used to say a dozen
times a day. Poor Jimmy ! Susan thought
the world of him, and I suppose if he
had lived to have grown up, Susan and
Jacob would have spoiled him, seeing
that he was the llrst one so, and they set
so much by him. Poor little Jimmy!"
Itut while the garrulous old lady was re
counting for the oncjmudredth time the
sad fortunes of "poor Jimmy," Nellie
had taken oil' her things and seated her.
self by the stove. Aunt Jemima glanced
up at the clock. It was half past nine.
All thoughts of that "fellow MoICeo,"
and of Susan's llrst-boin tied from her
mind. Half past nine! that was half an
hour later than she hud been up since
Jane ( Mrs. Raymond) was sick. She ad.
justed her spectacles several times to gel
as good a view of the clock face as possi
ble, and mako sure that she was right,
and that there could bo no possible mis
take in thelnatter, for Aunt Jemima was
a very punctilious old lady.'in fact almost
a clock in herself, and this little infring.
ment upon her bed hour could hardly lie
pardoned. After satisfying herself that it
was reully half past nine, she arose in
great haste, put away her book and spec,
tacles, and went oil' to bed, leaving Nellie
alone with her thoughts.
Man loves companionship. Few wo
think would willingly become Alex,
ander Selkirks, and live only with their
own thoughis, however much the story of
Robinson Crusoe may have charmed the
adventurous imaginations of their youth.
Vet there are times, man' times, in every
one's life, when he desires thnt.no greater
favor shall be shown him, than that he be
left alone with his own thoughts. He
longs to converse with himself, to argue
with himself; to inhabit his pretty air-cas.
lies; and to whisper pre It) tilings into his
own ears, that he wouldn't whisper into
any-body else's, not even his sweetheart's.
How often does 'it happen, too, that when
litis much-wished-for solitude is obtained
we cannot think collectedly ami discreet
ly, we can only feel and our wild distract
ed thoughts go'with our feelings.
So it was with Nellie Raymond when
site had been left alone, she could only
feel, imagine herself a school-girl again,
and let her thoughts go back unrestrained
to that one year of her life, when she had
known Howard McKoo, and whoso events
wore still as fresh in iter memory as
though they had happened but yesterday.
Pleased, she would close her eyes and
muse upon this period of iter life, just as
when one awaking from a pleasant dream,
and being loth to leave the beautiful vis.
ions behind in dreamland, closes his eyes
again and muses upon what ho has
dreamt.-
For a long time Nellie sat in front of
the cheery hearth, wholly given up to her
own thoughts and feelings. Suddenly,
however, she was aroused from her
revcry, and became quickly conscious of
present existence by hearing a loud halloo
in the street directly in front of the house.
Starling up, she ran to tho front window
and peered out from behind the shutters.
It was bright moonlight without, ami site
could see that an omnibus had broken
down, uml that the driver was bending
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